The Twelve Tailed Beast
by frozen icewolf
Summary: Akiko from the Sand Village lost her memory at the age of six. Now she is partnered w/ Gaara as a team. When she goes to the Leaf Village for the Chunin exams, she meets a familiar boy there. Is he connected to her past? STORY A LOT BETTER THAN SUMMARY, JUST PLEZ CHECK IT OUT
1. The Chunin Exams

AUTHORS NOTE: okay, so I'm sorry guys, I haven't been updating those other stories! I have no excuse to not upload (except for the fact that I haven't written the chapters yet.). I hope this will hold you over for now. This is the longest chapter I have ever writen in my whole life. When I read fanfiction, I enjoy to read long-chapter stories, so here you are! Enough of me blabbing and more to the reading! Oh, and my disclaimer is based off a bunch of cool author's style.

* * *

FIW (short for me as Frozen IceWolf): I'm gonna get the characters to say this.

SASUKE: Nani?

FWI: Yeah. And don't you dare call me lazy.

SASUKE: *grumbles* Lazy baka.

FWI: I will kill you later on in the story if you keep it up!

SASUKE: *gulp*

FWI: Mwa haha!

AKIKO: And so now the disclaimer - FWI owns nothing except for the story, and the OC's (ps. what does that stand for?)

SASUKE: Arigatou. And please tell the author you do not want me killed.

FWI: It wouldnt matter because I'm planning on doing it anyway!

SASUKE: AAAAAAHHHHHH!

GAARA: I'll help you.

SASUKE: Really?

GAARA: No.

AKIKO: *snickers*. Seriously, Sasuke, you have to get friends...fast. And that doesn't include fangirls.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

I smiled in the direction of the red haired sand shinobi. For some reason, I found the fight that Gaara, my partner, was putting against our sensei was quite entertaining and slightly funny.

Gaara...what a harsh life he had lived. Being snapped at every corner and being hated through out the entire village, just because he had the One-Tailed demon sealed inside of him.

But when I had arrived in the village, I became his first friend, even though he was almost a full year older than me. With no one to force me to not play with him, we bonded quickly. He ended up being on my team, and that caused us to get even closer. It was like we were siblings.

I remembered the time when I came to the village and how different our relationship was then.

*************************FLASHBACK**************************

The wind blasted sand into my face. I tried to not inhale the sand, but it was nearly impossible, unless I held my breath, which I was in no shape of doing. Blood seeped through my simple t-shirt and loose pants. I couldn't remember how I had gotten like that. Possibly from a concussion? Or perhaps it was a genjutsu.

But right then, I couldn't really care less that my memory was erased. The only thought that was absorbed into my mind was that I was in pain. No, not pain, AGONY. It was pulsing through my quickly draining veins, and I could only muffle the screams.

I only realized that I was being carried when the sand stopped blowing. The person was shielding me. I mumbled something close to "Thanks" and turned my body to the other in search of warmth and comfort. It didn't ease my pain, but it helped calm my panic down.

I slowly started to get drowsy, but the person told me firmly, "We have hope of saving you, but you absolutely HAVE to stay awake. Do you hear me?"

I was able to nod slowly before fighting off the sleep. If my life depended on staying awake or sleeping, then I would do my best to not fall unconscious. I took deeper breaths, wincing at the jolt of sharp pain adding to my already growing agony. Most likely broken ribs. I forced my eye lids to lift halfway and then I was staring at a young, black haired male,who was running quickly on the sand. I let my head turn very slowly, preventing any more pain and watched as the gates of the Village Hidden in the Sand came into view. Closer and closer...

I could barely hold on to consciousness. I tensed as new hands replaced old ones and I was placed on a soft bed. I felt my eyelids droop. Suddenly the snapped open wide and my back arched as even more pain rippled through my body. How much more did these people think I could take? The torture continued and I slowly realized that they were actually healing my wounds because once the agony was gone, some of the pain had disappeared in a certain on my body.

I sighed contently as almost all the pain was drained. Darkness creeped at the edge of my vision and I knew that I was going to pass out. I wondered if this was supposed to happen, or if I should've stayed awake. But it was too late, and I was already in the world of dreams.

-TWO WEEKS LATER-

I felt the presence of two beings, and I spun around. It was the first day that I was really able to explore the village. I still was cared for in the hospital and I was told to sleep there, but I could roam around until the curfew. Finally!

I blinked at the red head. He looked about a year older than me, which meant he was most likely seven. My first name, and my age were the only things I was able to remember from my past. Akiko, age six. I had no idea who my parents were, where I lived, or most importantly, how I got beat up so bad.

The child narrowed his turquoise eyes and sand came swirling out of a large gourd on his back to surround me. I gulped as the sand drew closer and closer. Gosh, were all the kids in the Sand Village always on guard and able to control sand? And were they violent?

"I-I...uh..." I stammered, not knowing what to say. I was scared the kid was going to crush me into little pieces until a hand on my shoulder made me look up. I reconized it as the man who saved me. In the hospital, I had learned his name was Minori.

He glanced at Gaara. "Please put the sand down," he told the child. I noticed Gaara's eyes had a black outline and I wondered if it was something normal or something he painted on. Slowly, the sand returned to him and he walked away silently.

I looked up. "Who's he? And can everyone here control sand? Can I be taught?"

Minori chuckled. "That's Gaara. He's the host of the One-Tailed demon. That's also why he can control sand. He's the only one who can do that currently. Unique, huh?"

My eyes widened. "Is he dangerous?"

"Only if you anger him," replied Minori. "But be careful because he's been said to kill people. Don't worry, I'll make sure your safe. Just don't get on his bad side."

My eyes grew even wider. I nodded quickly. Be nice to the boy with red hair named Gaara, I said to myself.

It was an essential thing to remember, or he would've crushed me until I was just a bag of skin, dried blood, and broken bones long before I could grow to know him.

**********************END FLASHBACK*************************

The back of my neck prickled and I leaped out of my hiding spot in the trees right before a kunai pierced my flesh. I landed gracefully on the ground next to Gaara, facing my sensei, Minori.

"You do know that there's a more polite way of telling me to join the fight," I said, but all the while I was grinning from ear to ear.

Minori laughed. "Don't tell me that you're gonna quit a practice for the Chunin exams coming up!" he exclaimed in mock shock {weird how they rhyme, right?}.  
I rolled my eyes as I dodged the kunai and a shuriken thrown at me. I reached into my own pouch on my belt and behind my back, pulled out a kunai with an exploding note attached. I jumped and landed on a tree branch. I looked over to Gaara and raised the hand that wasn't holding on the weapon. Making sure that he was watching, I slowly made my hand into a fist with my thumb poking out between my middle and index finger. This was our secret language for "distraction".

Gaara nodded, showing that he understood and immediately the sand that had been circling him lashed out. While Minori was distracted by the sudden fury of attacks that Gaara tried to hit him with (although he was actually narrowly missing on purpose), I managed to creep behind him and stick the kunai into the ground near his foot. Then I set it off, a second after I swiftly leaped away. The explosion shook the ground and dust surrounded the battlefield. I winked at Gaara, and he got the message. "Great teamwork," I was telling him.

I knew it wouldn't be enough to defeat our sensei, though, since I had learned that trick from him. He was most likely expecting it. I tensed, sensing a presence. I felt something dash closer to me and I flung out a shuriken in that direction. I saw a flicker of color and dodged right in time. Minori broke the branch I had been relaxing on.  
I narrow my eyes and preformed a water jutsu, the element that I specialized in.

"Water Style: Sword Of Draining!". A sword made of frozen water formed in my hand. It was unique because of the way it could drain an opponents chakra when hit, and turn it into yours.

I charged forward and very nearly managed to nick my sensei's ear. I growled and pursued him. It took at least a minute to catch up with sensei and very slightly cut him on the arm. It barely scratched the skin and only gave one third of the chakra needed to preform even the simplest jutsu.

Of course, since Gaara was so silent and was just observing the chase, I didn't realize he was even there until his sand surrounded Minori. I grinned and attacked, dropping my sword onto a branch and made the hand seals necessary before yelling, "Water Style: Blinded Sight!"

A wall of mist spread around our sensei and the natural sunlight did its job. I could hear a muttered, "Dang it, how does this light blind me. You know, this was something I never got." There was a poof and then the clone disappeared. I cursed.  
Suddenly I whipped around, pulling out a kunai and blocked the one that was aimed at my arm. The real Minori smiled at me and we started to fight– hand to hand combat.

* * *

-AN HOUR LATER-

"Great job!" Minori congratulated us. I panted, and dropped to the ground, laying on my back. Gaara took off his gourd and followed my example. Our sensei chuckled and sat down next to us.

"You guys really have grown," he commented. "Gaara, you have to be careful of the really quick opponents that can get through your sand defenses. But your sand fighting is getting faster and more accurate every day. Keep up the good work! And Akiko, your water jutsus are fantastic. I can tell the hard work you've been putting into it. I want to just say that you should save the best for last. Even if it seems that your opponent's loosing, don't use your strongest jutsus. But if you are in dire need of it, then I suggest that you don't hesitate."

We both nodded our heads, thanked him for the practice and advice, and then headed back to our homes, excited for the Chunin exams that the sand ninjas were going to head to the next day.

I smiled and closed my eyes, imagining myself winning with Gaara. If only that wish would come true...

* * *

-IN KONOHAGAKURE-

Minori introduced us to many different teams once we got into the village and rested. The last group that we saw was the only one that really caught my interest.  
I immediately assumed that the spiky blond haired boy was the one with the Nine-Tailed Fox inside him (sensei told us a bit about him) because I could sense two beings shift inside him, just like I could with Gaara. I didn't dare ask, though, in case I offended him in some way.

The pink haired girl looked pretty nice, until she annoyed me to no end by talking about the black haired boy's special abilities and such. It was so obvious that she liked him. I soon introduced Gaara to her and let him be spoken to. I hoped he wouldn't kill me after that.

But the one that really made me want to get to know then team was the black haired boy who's hair stuck up like a bird's butt. But for some reason...he was...vaguely familiar. I wondered if I had met him once in my past. Then I wondered if I was best friends with him or something because I could feel the bond was a lot stronger than just over a few meetings. His cold expression wasn't one I recognized, but his hair and eyes were starting to bring back memories. Could this boy be the key to my past?

It was odd, because instead of introducing ourselves, the first reaction for both of us was to stare. And stare. Until Minori interrupted and said that we should actually speak to each other. We apologized and told each other our names. Sasuke Uchiha. Why the heck did that name sound like I had heard it a billion times before? When I told him (a bit sheepishly) that I couldn't remember my last name and that I had lost my memory up until I was six years old, he reacted like I had electrocuted him. Maybe he did know me.

That fact buzzed in my head through out the whole night before the first part of the test came. I sure hoped that in the third part of the test, I wouldn't be against Sakura, the pink girl was right about all his abilities, then I may not stand a chance. Especially because he has the Shingarian at his disposal.

The next day, I hurried and changed, not caring that I was half an hour earlier than I was supposed to be there.

I sat down on the grass and enjoyed the soft breeze. I felt some one come up behind me. I turned around and was surprised to find that the Uchiha boy had sat down next to me. I looked back into the trees.

"For some reason you seem really familiar. And you remind me of someone that I know. Only that I don't know where she is right now," blurted out Sasuke.  
I widened my eyes in surprise. "I feel the same way. Except that I don't know anyone like you. You say you know someone like me? That could be a clue to my past. I could be related to them.". Before Sasuke could answer, Sakura came up and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from me. I nearly protested, but then I realized that Sakura and even Sasuke might take that the wrong way and think that because I wanted to talk him and that I had a crush on him. As if.

Sakura didn't see the death glare her hostage gave her. I totally understood him. I wondered how he had been able to not go insane with her around. Her around, plus being on my team, plus bragging about my abilities when I couldn't care less, and liking me would drive any person nuts. Or maybe he was just used to it. I looked around and saw that everyone was gathering. Gaara stood next to me as I got up and brushed the grass off my pants. I smiled at him and gave a thumbs up before entering the class room that we would be testing in.

The actual test was annoyingly difficult. But you managed to pass the nine questions, without resorting to cheating. For the tenth question an examiner announces, "The tenth question is the most difficult one of all. If you fail, you can never enter the exams again. If you get it right, you will move on. But you can leave and come back next year if your not willing to take the risk."

I snorted at all the people who left the room, which was at least a third of the class. How stupid were they to fall for a trick like this? It was obviously fake. Why else would they give you a choice to leave the room?

Naruto slowly raised his hand and I wondered if he would quit. Then his hand slammed onto the table and he proudly declared that he would not quit, no matter what. The determination made me smile.

It turned out I was right with my assumption because then the examiner said, "Congratulations! You pass the first part of the exams!"

Everyone looked at each other, shocked (not including me) and cheered. Naruto came up to me, blue eyes bright with happiness. "We can do this!"

I smiled at him and glanced over at Sasuke. He was looking at me with a smirk on his face. He was possibly thinking that I wasn't going to be able to do the second part of the test. Baka.

Grinning, I flashed him a triumphant smile. I would show him!

* * *

-THE SECOND PART OF THE EXAMS-

The forest leaves flashed by as Gaara and I traveled through the forest. We had three days to get an earth scroll, as we already had the other kind. We were at a disadvantage because we were only two people, but I knew that we had been trained enough.

Two days had passed and it was time for me and Gaara to act. We had managed to fight off two teams already, while keeping our scroll safe. But now we needed an earth scroll. I looked at the list. Well, Ino, Sakura's best friend's group had one. I suggested this to Gaara, but warned him that if he stood still, Ino could zap him with her mind transfer jutsu. He agreed to stay alert and move around quickly if that happened. So we set off in search for a lead.

It wasn't hard to find Ino's team. Of course, it helped that I could do a tracking jutsu.

When we arrived, it ended up that they were asleep. I nearly rolled my eyes and Gaara took the scroll from their bag with his sand before we disappeared into the trees, grinning.

Obviously we passed that one. The hardest part was the last one. The one that was about to begin. I wondered what kind of opponent I would get. All night, I practiced with Gaara. We decided to fight in a style that was our weakness, so we would be able to get stronger. I didn't know if it did any good, but it was a try.

I stared onto the field, watching ninja after ninja fight. I had butterflies in my stomach. Every time the announcer called, I would hope that it wasn't me, although when it turned out to be someone else, I felt like I had been forgotten.  
Almost everyone had gone, and I seriously felt that I had been forgotten. But then the announcer said, "Akiko and Uchiha, Sasuke!"

I stiffened as I got up to enter the field. Oh great, I was probably going to get beaten up really bad. I prayed Gaara wouldn't get angry at me loosing. As I took my place, I realized that Sasuke hadn't come down. I nearly sighed in relief when the seconds ticked by. Then, just as the announcer said that I would fight someone else, Sasuke appeared in a whirl of leaves with his sensei. I widened my eyes slightly. Just my luck.

His sensei apologized and then got off the arena. Sasuke faced me, narrowing his eyes. The announcer counted down, and we came at each other, both of us wielding kunais. We actually seemed to be an even match. Breathing quicker, we leaped away finally, prepared to use jutsus.

He unleashed a fire one, while I unleashed a water one. They collided into each other and I could see the steam billowing through out the area. A few people coughed and others left for a bit.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and then sighed before closing his eyes. When he opened them, they were blood red. I knew to immediately look away before he could preform a genjutsu on me. I couldn't attack first, since Sasuke would know what I was doing, since he had his Shingarian activated.

Suddenly, a kunai flashed past me. I started to dodge, focusing on Sasuke's movements to be able to get away faster. This strategy worked for a bit before he noticed and as I was flipping, I felt a sharp pain in my right shoulder and left forearm.

Shoot, I thought. Dammit, he actually hit me! Now what do I do? I since and pull out the offending weapons before realizing that I had just been distracted and Sasuke had punched me in my stomach. I went soaring and landed on my back, gasping for the air that had been knocked out of me. What sort of ninja was I if I couldn't beat someone, even if they had the Shingarian?

I stood, just in time to get another hit. I crashed into the wall and did a face plant. This went on for a while until sudden fear bolted through my heart. Could he actually hurt me so bad that I would be crippled forever? I questioned myself. Could he actually...kill me? He wouldn't! My hope dwindled as the hits became more fierce.  
I felt anger brewing behind my silent mask. I had to do something. I wiped the blood off my face and with a lot of effort, stood, panting wildly. I put a hand on the wall to keep me from sinking to the ground.

Sasuke smirked. "Well, Akiko. I thought you would be stronger than this. You'll be disappointing your family when you don't come home a Chunin, eh?"

This got me angrier and my trembling was more from anger than fear and pain. But I didn't say anything. Instead I closed my eyes.

"I can feel your rage. Come on, attack me. Or are you too weak?" mocked the Uchiha. I growled loudly, but otherwise stayed quiet, letting my anger grow. He was trying to make me attack me. And I knew if he hit me again, I wouldn't be able to get back up.

"I wonder how you even got to be a ninja, what with you being so...delicate." I was so close to beating him into a pulp. Just a hair breath's away. But I managed to control my temper. Waiting to see what he said next. I felt his breath on my ear and I tensed. "And I bet your family was just as feeble as you."

That out me off the edge. My eyelids snapped open and Sasuke stumbled back in shock. Instead of being the regular bright green, my irises were now blood red, just like his. I had the Shingarian. But I barely even took notice of the fact that I could see the chakra signal through out everyone's body, that I could see Sasuke's muscles tense, that I could copy every one's movement, no matter how fast they were. I was way too angry.

"Shut up, Uchiha!," I yelled, not caring if every shinobi there heard you. "Do you know how hard it is to wake up in a hospital and not know where you are, why you are in so much pain, why you're in a hospital, who your parents are, and most importantly not know who you are? Do you just assume that every one isn't suffering as much as you have?"

Sasuke blinked as I was suddenly in his face.

"You bastard!" I screamed and he winced at my volume of my voice, but apparently he was smart enough not to tell me to lower my voice. I raised my fist, punched in the stomach as hard as I possibly could, and then turned on my heel and high-tailed it out of there.

I sprinted through the village, the people there giving me strange looks. I ended up at the beach, the salty air calming me down. I ignored all the stares and sat right near the water, my eyes returning to their normal sharp green. Sighing I laid down, not caring about the sand in my hair. The pain of my wounds soon stung me, but I closed my eyes and decided to rest a little.

* * *

-DREAM-

I opened my eyes to see a wolf. Well, more like a demon wolf, because that's what it was. It was gigantic in size and you realized it had A LOT of wondered why you had come across it in the first place.

"Hello Akiko. It's nice to see you again," the wolf said in a deep, soothing voice, although you could still tell it was female.

"Wait...I've met you before? I don't remember you. Did I know you in the past?" I asked, confused.

The wolf nodded. "You can call me Ookami. That means wolf, as you most likely know."

I smile. Then I become more serious. "Do you know about my past? Can you tell me? Please?"

Ookami sighed. "You'll learn it sooner or later, so I guess...I can tell you. You know how you cannot remember your past? This is your parents fault. They wiped your memory and send you to the Sand Village to make sure you were safe, because Itachi was murdering your clan. Apparently someone got to you, but luckily you were saved."

I decided to press the issue. "Please, could you just tell me who my parents were? Or at least some family members?"

Ookami paused before replying, "You have two older brothers, and one twin sister who was hidden in the Mist Village."

You waited.

"And their names are Sasuke, Itachi, and Chieko Uchiha."

* * *

END NOTE: I'm sorry if there are a lot of typos, I haven't gotten to checking it over. I just am asking your forgivness. Oh - and I am plannig to make this a slight "love story", or at least a story with some pairs. What would you guys (and girls) suggest? Please review and tell me your opinon. The only pairing I really need is Akiko and some one else. But others will be appreciated as well! And they can be Akatsuki because she'll be meeting them soon (and will probably taken away by them).


	2. Akatsuki?

NOTE: And I'm sorry if I'm making all the characters OCish. I'm not exactly the most experienced writer on Naruto (this is my first fanfiction for it). I hope you'll forgive me! And Ookami will also turn up from time to time–yay! Oh, and this is late night writing (11:00 and such) so I am sorry if it is a bit fast, since I kinda wanted to get this all over with, so you people can read it! Okay, so here's the disclaimer.

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DISCLAIMER:

AKIKO: I'm gonna say this real quick! Naruto does not belong to frozen icewolf. Not the characters, or the plot (with all the ninjas and etc.). But this story does belong to her and DO NOT copy and paste this on a site somewhere, without her permission. Thank you. Oh, and she also made up the OCs.

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CHAPTER 2

-DREAM-

"No way...so I'm the sister of SASUKE?" I nearly yelled. "And why did he insult his own parents?"

Ookami chuckled. "He didn't know. You two have grown a lot from the last time you were together. And that was nearly six years ago."

I growled unhappily. "So who exactly are you?"

Ookami blinked. Then she lowered her muzzle so I could look into her eyes without tilting my head up as much (although she was so large, I still had to look up). "I am the Twelve-Tailed Demon Wolf, who is currently your Gaurdian. I was assigned to protect you on the day of your birth. The Eleven-Tailed is inside your sister."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why are you so nice then? Don't all the demons want to take over their host's body?"

Ookami grinned a wolffish grin. It would've looked like she was about to attack me if she didn't hang her large tongue goofily out of the side of her mouth. "Well, the two of us, the wolf demon and the hawk demon are different," she explained. "We weren't made from the ten tails. We are his siblings, but you could say we don't resemble him at all. Me and my sister, we are usually just watching over the universe, making sure there is balance between the good and evil sources. But then we got attracted to the fore coming destruction of the Leaf Village and decided to go there. We became friends with your mother, and then she had you two.

"Obviously she cared a lot for you two because then she pleaded with us to become your guardians. To become a Guardian, we had to be sealed inside of you. It took a bit of time, but we were finally convinced that these days wouldn't be the worst years of our life. For me, actually, they were quite interesting. So there you have it."

I stood there in silence for a while, sinking in all the information. Finally, I nodded. "So what next?"

The wolf demon thought for a moment before responding. "We must wait to find out what will happen. The Akatsuki, a group of S-ranking criminals, are attempting to put back together the Ten-Tailed, which would then result in me and you having to fight. So be careful of them? They may search for you as well."

I blinked, eyes wide, and slowly my vision began to fade into darkness.

"I cannot talk to you much longer–some one is trying to wake you. But remember this; I am always here, inside of you. You just have to look in the right place. If you desperately need information or help, I will be able to provide both."

The gentle voice faded away and soon I was enveloped inside a cocoon of warmth, safety and silence.

* * *

-WAKING UP-

I opened my eyes to see a pair of worried blue eyes above me. I recognized Naruto as the real world came into view. Blinking, and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I sat up, suddenly seeing that I wasn't at the beach anymore. Instead, I was laid across a soft bed.

I groaned, realizing that bandages were wrapped around my wounds and that I was sore. Scratch that, my whole body hurt!

I frowned and turned to Naruto. "What happened? And who's house is this?"

Naruto grinned. "Welcome to the Sakura household!"

I rolled my eyes and stretched. "What happened?" I repeated.

"Right after you left, the whole audience was in an uproar. Half the people were saying you should be disqualified, while the other half was arguing that Sasuke had went too far. In the end, you both passed." The blond's smile faded away. "But then your village's Kage barged in with a load of ninjas and went on attacking people." His voice grew softer. "And the Hokage died."

My eyes widened. Why had I not been informed of this plan? I was almost sure that Gaara knew what it was about. I growled under my breath. It was probably because I was such a "young girl". And why would our Kage KILL the Leaf Village's Kage? Was there any logic behind the attack?

Naruto seemed to sense the frustration and sadness that the news inflicted upon me. "Don't worry, it's not your fault. Although, you should be angry at your people–they ended up leaving with out you."

I shot up out of bed, immediately furious, ignoring how pain streaked through me. "WHAT? HOW COULD THEY?". I then looked Naruto up and down. "Don't tell me your lying," I said dangerously.

Naruto put his hands up in an "innocent" stance. "Go ask Sakura if you want to confirm it."

I sighed, sitting back down. "NOW what will I do? I can't go back to the village on my own! It already took me about three days to get here! And I can't ask of your village's ninjas! They probably hate me!"

The door creaked open and Sakura walked in, holding a tray of food. I nearly drooled. "Is this for me? Thanks so much!"  
Sakura smiled. "I heard the last few sentences of your conversation while walking up the stairs. You can stay with us for the time being until the new Hokage is appointed."

I jumped up and hugged Sakura, wondering why I was showing my feelings to enemies. Well, I guess I could think of them as comrades from now on. "I am SO happy that I have such awesome friends!"

Naruto's eyes widened. Then his face broke into a very large grin. "We're already friends? Awesome! I love you Akiko-chan!"

I blinked at the honorific. "You can just call me Akiko. Or Aki for short," I told him.  
Sakura turned toward me and gave me my food. As I gobbled it down greedily,Sakura interrupted the silence. "Let's talk about something!"

I tensed, remembering my dream. Should I trust these people enough to spill my secret? I glanced at Naruto. He was loud and outgoing–not exactly something I wanted to face if he mistakenly said something. I looked at Sakura and immediately decided no. She would defiantly say something to Sasuke, and I didn't exactly want to talk to HIM for a while.

"Sakura, I'm sure Akiko wouldn't want to talk about Sasuke for a while," a voice said from the door. I looked up to see the Team 7 (the team they were in) sensei, Kakashi.

"Arigatou," I said, glaring at Sakura.

Kakashi looked at me in sympathy. "Well, actually I passed him on the way here and he said he was sorry. It's just that he's never met his match before in genin, and he has a complicated goal. It made him blow."  
I looked out the window. "What goal?"

"He wants to kill his older brother, Itachi," Naruto answered. My eyes widened and he continued. "It makes a little sense, since Itachi killed all the Uchihas except for himself and Sasuke. And I guess you, if your related to them, which you must be because the Shingarian is a bloodline thing. Although for some reason you have green eyes instead of the usual onyx."

So that's why Ookami and her sister came, I thought. But why would Itachi do this?

Kakashi frowned. "So...how did you activate the Shingarian? You come from the Sand Village. Or at least I think you do...but according to your rant at the arena, it seems something else is going on. Care to explain?"

I stared at him and fidgeted. I wasn't ready to tell them all my secret. What would happen if I told this Leaf Village Jonin? I bit my lip and then before I could say anything, Naruto interrupted.

"Kakashi-sensei, don't put a hard time on Aki!" he whined. "Come on, me and Sakura will show you around!" Grabbing my hand, the blond dragged me out of the room and out the door. Sakura sighed and joined us while Kakashi stayed inside. If I was him, I would do the same thing.

The first thing that Naruto showed me was the ramen shop that he loved. I learned from Sakura that he always eats at least five bowls everyday. The next thing was the Ninja Academy that everyone who wanted to become a great ninja attended. Naruto admitted that it had taken him a very long time to graduate. He was about to tell me that it was because of something, but then Sakura shushed him, and I decided not to tell them that I already knew he was the host of the Nine-Tailed fox. I'd rather not get mind-wiped...again.

Just when Naruto was introducing the faces of the Hokages to me, I heard a whistle of something sharp. Acting quickly, I rammed into Sakura, who pushed Naruto, and we all fell to the ground, just in time to avoid a kunai thrown at us. Judging by the angle, it was aimed at my leg, not my head or neck. This realized, I narrowed down the reasons to one thing–the enemy wanted us alive, but they didn't care if the disabled us for a while.

I jumped to my feet, my eyes darting around. Was I already not liked because I was a sand shinobi?

Naruto slowly got up, while Sakura was whimpering slightly, and holding onto my arm, as if she wanted comfort. I shrugged her off.

"Sakura, ninjas need to be brave! Get over your fears!" I told her, trying to say it in a nicer way than I would've liked. She had let me stay at her house, plus she gave me a nice breakfast. It was just gratitude that I was actually not being snotty with her.

Her hands clenched into fists. "Right!"

Naruto yelled outright, "Hey, you! Whoever threw that kunai, please show yourselves!" I snorted. Why would the enemy want to show themselves? Then they wouldn't get blamed for the attack. To my surprise, two cloaked figures walked forward, stopping on the roof of the house right next to us. They had hats with long, paper strips to cover their faces so they wouldn't be known. I wondered if they were even supposed to be in the village because there would be no need to cover their faces if they belonged here.

I glanced at the design of their cloaks. Midnight black that had red clouds outlined with white. Who could they be? Since they were wearing the same thing (even the pants and sandals) I assumed they must've been in some sort of group. Or maybe they were just some really weird friends that decided to dress up like that. But I doubted it.

Naruto and Sakura gasped. Had they recognized these people? Did they know them?

"Who are you?" I questioned the strangers, frowning at my friend's reactions. It came out a bit harsher than I meant to. Although they did try to hit me with a weapon.

The taller one grinned and spoke in a deep tone, which I immediately knew was a male's. "I don't think you'll recognize my name, little girl"–I growled at that–"but I bet my partner would like to have a word with you." I didn't know the voice, so he must've been telling the truth.

The other one nodded. "I've heard many things about you. Luckily, or I guess unluckily in your situation, they're all good."

Right after I heard the voice speak, I tensed up, not wanting to believe it. The voice...it sounded so familiar and so close to Sasuke's. Could it be? ITACHI?

I could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "I see you have noticed the resemblance." It was defiantly my older brother.

'Akiko', a voice said in my mind. It was probably Ookami. 'Itachi is a member of the Akatsuki. That cloak is their signature. Be careful now, your treading on thin ice.'

I had to hold back my gasp. The Akatsuki? Here? Did they come to take Naruto?

"Who are you?" yelled Naruto, fed up with the waiting. "Show your face coward!"

Baka, I thought. I would've rolled my eyes, had the moment not been so serious. "It's Itachi," I said.

I could feel the tension hanging in the air. Any moment now, Naruto was going to explode. 3, 2, and 1...

"HIM?" he roared. I winced slightly. "You've gotta be kidding me!" he continued. While ranting, I watched the two Akatsuki members take of their hats.

The taller one looked like a human-fish hybrid while Itachi looked exactly like his brother, other than having longer hair, no bangs, and slight creases on both sides of his face.

I saw Sakura gape and then turn to look at a closed store, blushing. I hissed softly. I was fed up with this girl. Did she HAVE to think Sasuke and his brother were hot?

"I'll take you down!" Naruto told him. My arm shot out and grabbed his wrist as he lunged forward to attack my brother.

"Naruto," I explained, "you don't go attacking an S-ranked criminal like that. Especially since there are actually two there. You're not even close to the rank of Jonin, so don't think about fighting."

Naruto huffed while the fish-dude grinned. "Girl's got some brains, unlike that kid over here." Even though he had just complemented me, I still gave him a glare. He was saying that my friend was dumb! Or was he implying the fact that I was dumb, so that Naruto would be categorized as dumber than dumb? I shook my head, ridding my mind of the thoughts. There were more important things than going through the possibilities of what some stranger's words meant.

"So, what did you come here for?" I spat. "Did you come for Naruto? Because you're not getting him."

Fish Boy chuckled. "A bit feisty in the attitude. I like it. And to answer your question, you don't have to get so protective of your friend. Actually, you should be protecting yourself, 'cause we came for you."

Shock froze me to the ground. Oh great. Should I flee? I glanced at Sakura and Naruto, knowing full well that I couldn't just leave them behind. I guess it was stay and fight for it.

Naruto must have decided that he couldn't wait because he charged at Fish Boy without a second thought (or at least it looked that way) and immediately he got thrown back by they Akatsuki member's grey hand. It was the same color as his face. Gosh, were all the members this weird?

Sakura looked a bit frightened, but I could tell she was attempting to hide it. Unluckily for her, the real feelings shone straight through. Some time I would have to show her how to work on that. Suddenly I realized I was thinking of being nice to Sakura. Blinking, I turned my attention back the the Akasuki members to find them gone.

I smacked myself mentally. Why did I have to get distracted? They had used that time to hide and now I had no idea were they were.

Suddenly I saw a blur of black and red streak toward us and before I knew it, Naruto had a shuriken at his throat. I tensed and looked at Fish Boy. "What do you want me to do?" I finally snarled, realizing that he was going to hurt Naruto if I didn't do what they wanted.

"Come with us willingly," replied Itachi from the opposite roof of the previous building.

I glanced at Naruto one more time before giving in and nodding. I couldn't let Naruto get captured instead. What kind of friend would I be then? Plus if I refused, the two would probably kill hostage after hostage before I finally agreed. I couldn't let that happen.

Itachi leaped down and landed behind me. Before I knew it, there was a sudden pain in the back of my head and I collapsed, the world around me going dark.

* * *

-WITH ITACHI AND FISH BOY-

When I woke up, my head was pounding and I felt like my brain could explode at any second. Groggily, I sat up taking in the scenery around me. I was in a forest with lush grass and Fish Boy was snoring next to me. My older brother was no where to be seen, but I could feel that he would know if I tried to escape, and I knew the consequences wouldn't be pretty.

Sighing, I tried to fall back asleep again, but my headache wouldn't let me. I stood and hoped that a nice walk wouldn't make me suspicious. Actually my goal was to find a nice stream where I could wash my face or something.

I ended up coming across a stone path. I followed it because that would just be making it easier to go back to the camp site. As I felt the breeze brush my face, I wondered what was happening back home. Did Gaara miss me? Or did he not care that I was gone? During the time that we got older, I felt like he was drifting further away from me. We didn't talk often, and I rarely saw him anymore, other than the required times.

I wasn't paying attention to the road, and it must've curved sometime becasue when I came back to the present, I was staring at a large stream with a structure that contained two red poles and one on top of them, forming some sort of gate. Behind them, I saw a very big boulder, and I smirked. No one would hide anything from me!

"Water Style: Twin Tornado," I muttered under my breath (partly because I didn't want anyone to hear me and partly because I didn't want to disrupt the birds singing). I made the necessary hand seals and one water tornado formed around me and the other I guided into the boulder. It cracked and chips of rock flew in all directions. Luckily the ones that would have hit me got sucked into the tornado. I released the jutsu a few moments later and quickly focused my chakra to walk over the water. Soon I was across and I went into the cave.

It looked like an ordinary cave until I noticed a hidden passage way (which I had activated by mistakenly pushing quite forcefully onto a piece of stone that surrounded the caves, due to me tripping). I wondered if anyone inhabited the cave as I walked down the hallway. When I came out the other end, I saw two people lounging around.

One if them had long blond hair, which some of it was tied up in a ponytail. I suspected it was a she, but I couldn't exactly be sure. Well, the person had a large piece of hair hanging over their left eye, covering it completely. They looked about my age, maybe a year older?

The other guy had red hair. It was darker than Gaara's, but was slightly messy like his. He looked like a young adult, twenty three at the latest.  
The second thing I noticed was that they had Akatsuki cloaks on. So I had stumbled across the base, huh? Well that was pretty interesting.

"Who are you?" questioned the blond curiously. I was surprised to find that he had a male's voice, and I wondered if there were any females in the Akatsuki. "And how did you get in here? The sealed passage way is only for people who have a very large supply of chakra, un. Don't tell me a twelve year old girl came in here by herself!"

"I'm eleven," I corrected. "Plus, you don't look much older than me, Blondie."  
The blond was about to retort when the red-head stopped him. "Answer Deidara. Who are you? And how did you come here?"

I gulped, seeing that he was absolutely serious. I told him about being taken by Itachi and Fish Boy (who's name, in fact, was Kiasme). Then I explained about how I got here and the accident.

"I actually didn't do anything except slip, and hold onto a rock for support. Unless that rock is special or something, I don't know how I opened the door," I said. A curse came from the other end of the hallway and I flinched, hoping I wouldn't turn into a shishkabob for abandoning my two kidnappers.

"Is that your sister?" Kiasme's voice shouted. I glanced back and gave the thumbs up.

Itachi stormed into the room and I backed away from his obvious anger, hiding behind the guy named Deidara and the red-head, muttering about how he should calm down a notch.

Deidara looked at me, frowning. "Wait, sister? Who's sibling are you, un?"

I pointed to my fuming brother. "Itachi's."

"But I though he only had a younger brother!" He exclaimed. I shrugged, not wanting to explain.

Footsteps made me turn around to face an orange haired person with a load of piercings that seriously looked like they would hurt. Or maybe that guy was just born that way.

"So...you are Akiko Uchiha, am I correct?" he asked. I nodded. "Well, I am the leader of this group. And I've requested you join us."

I snorted. "Not meaning to be rude, but why do you think I'll willingly join this CRIMINAL organization?"

The leader's mouth twitched. "We'll destroy the Sand Village then," he retorted.  
I gawked at him. They would destroy the village? Dammit, I thought, they probably could do it. I growled out, "...Fine. But you better not destroy the Sand Village now, or ask me to do it."

"Unless it's necessary."

"No, not even then," I snarled. "We made a deal. Keep to it."

The leader sighed in annoyance. "Fine, whatever. Deidara, show her around." He then turned and left, most likely heading toward another cave.

Deidara stretched before turning to me. "Come on, un." I followed him, but carefully watching his movements in case he tried to attack me randomly.  
He lead me through the caves, and surprisingly, there were ones that were specially carved and had doors. These were apparently our rooms. I grimaced, knowing that all my things were back in the Sand Village and some extra bits of stuff were still in the Leaf Village.

"I don't know which one will be your room, un. But it better not be next to Hidan's, or he'll cause a racket," Deidara said.

"That's what always happens when a new member joins," a voice said from above. I snatched a kunai from my belt and got ready to attack. When I saw the familiar design of the cloak, I relaxed slightly. But I still had my weapon ready. For all I knew, this guy could be a dangerous one.

I got a good look at him and saw that the guy had split colors. One side was pure white, while the other was pitch black. What creeped me out the most, though was the way he had two plant jaws surrounding his head. They could probably close in a snap and tear someone's leg off.

"Oh, a pretty girl. I assume she's being held here? Could I eat her?" a different voice asked. I frowned, because with out a doubt the voice was coming from the plant dude that was hanging in the ceiling, but he had already spoken...unless he could do voice imitations.

Deidara wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I had to stop myself from bolting as soon as we made contact. "She's not for eating, Zetsu. Plus she's joining us, so no, you can't eat her, un."

I gulped. So this guy really did eat people. Why did there have to be a human-eater here? It just freaked me out more. I was starting to learn that everyone here had their own quirks. This guy, Zetsu, was part venus fly trap (or more like venus human trap). Pein had weird piercings and was probably very strong, Kiasme was part fish, and Itachi had the Shingarian, and he also murdered his own clan. Deidara probably had something strange about him, just like the red head.  
Speaking of the red head... "Hey, who's the guy who was with you when I came into the room?" I questioned.

"Nani? Oh, that's my old man Sasori," replied the blond. I tried in vain to hide my snicker. 'Old man?' how old is Sasori anyway?, I thought.  
Suddenly, I frowned and wondered why I was getting along with everyone so well, even though they were supposed to be S-ranked missing nin. Well, I suppose everyone has a soft side.

I saw Deidara glance at me quizzically, but I ignored him and he continued to show me to my room, passing the white and black plant man.  
When we arrived I realized that it wasn't very different from all the other rooms. The only thing that stood out that it was completely empty, not counting the bed sitting quietly in the corner.

"Thanks for showing me here," I said, plopping onto my new bed. I suddenly felt really tired. It must've been from my headache which had just come back. "Is it okay if I took a little nap? My head's feeling like hell."  
Deidara chuckled and replied, "You can sleep, un." Then he left, and I realized that he was probably my favorite Akatsuki member, other than my brother.

I shook my head, realizing that I had already started to think of these people as friends. It was just because I was a team mate, that they treated me like this. I told myself that they were cold blooded killers and I shouldn't become open to them.

Rolling over, I sighed and wondered how I even got tangled up in this whole mess. I closed my eyes and let darkness take me away from the harsh reality for a while.

* * *

**Tsukuyomi-chan: **In answer to your comment, Akiko's demon is not extracted because Ookami is not part of the ten tails. The Akatsuki is only reviving the ten tails by using the one through nine tailed beast because of how it got split up. And I'll try my best to make it better (I haven't looked it over yet). Plus, I'm planning to continue this through out the years, and my writing will definatly improve. So thanks for the review!

END NOTE: Please review! I am a pretty new writer (I haven't been on the site for long) so I am overly excited about even one review! So please, make my day! And thank you for reading this! I hope you like it! And I'm sorry for the errors in it. You can tell me in a review.

P.S.: I would also like for an OC pairing (I know, I said this last chapter). I'm thinking of this as a Deidara x OC story. Any thoughts on this? And don't worry, somehow, I'll still make Akiko good (maybe they'll both betray the Akatsuki).


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